BSC High: Sophomore Year
by Rachel D
Summary: Book Two in the miniseries. No flames, whatsoever! COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1: September, Claudia

_**BSC HIGH: Sophomore Year**_

A/N: Book Two in the miniseries.

_**CHAPTER 1: September—Claudia**_

__It was a Tuesday morning in early September in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. I awoke to the sound of the radio blaring a public-service announcement, not to mention the alarm telling me to get my ass out of bed. Normally, I would've been filled with dread at the thought of going to school, but not today. Today, I was starting my sophomore year at Stoneybrook High School. Oh, you're probably wondering who I am, right?

Here, let me start at the beginning. My name's Claudia Kishi and I'm fifteen years old. I live with my parents and older sister, Janine, who's eighteen and a freshman at U-Conn. She's taking pre-med classes, because she wants to be a doctor. My beloved grandmother, Mimi, used to live with us, too, but she died about a couple of years ago, and I miss her very much. In fact, I have something very special in my room. It's a matted picture frame with my seventh-grade school picture in one corner, and a picture of Mimi at age twelve in another corner. We look so much alike. In fact, when I get out on my own, it's going in my living room.

I'm also the vice-president of the Baby-sitters Club, or BSC. The reason why is because I have my own phone and phone number, so I take calls during non-meeting times. Like the vice-president of our country, I have no official duties, unless you count snack provider during meetings. There are two reasons why I have my own phone and phone number. One, so we don't have to tie up someone's phone line during our meetings, and two, so parents don't have to call all over town just to find a baby-sitter.

Another thing about me is that I'm not the best student in the world, which is why I had to repeat some of seventh grade. Anyway, doing that really helped, because it didn't take lone for me to catch up and go to high school with my friends. My sister, on the other hand, has a genius IQ, and was even taking college courses while she was still in high school. Every year, whenever one of Janine's former teachers learns I'll be in their class, they expect me to be just like her, and are always disappointed. My sister was the valedictorian of her class, whereas I'm lucky if I can get a grade above a C. I'm also a fabulous artist—not that I'm bragging, of course—and sometimes make my own jewelry.

Okay, on to our loyal president and founder, Kristy Thomas, who's also fifteen and a SHS sophomore. Kristy got the idea for the club about three years ago when she was watching her mom make hundreds of phone calls, just trying to find a baby-sitter for her little brother, who was only six at the time. Her dad, who Mary Anne Spier and I never really liked all that much, abandoned them when Kristy was in first grade, which was soon after David Michael was born. Six years later, her mom married Watson Brewer, then Kristy and her family moved in with her new stepfather.

Kristy's oldest brother, Charlie, is nineteen and a sophomore at NYU. Her older brother, Sam, is seventeen and a senior at SHS. Her younger brother, David Michael is now nine and in fourth grade at Stoneybrook Elementary School. Kristy also has two stepsibilings and an adopted sister. Her stepsister, Karen, is almost nine and in fourth grade, and her stepbrother, Andrew, is six and in first grade. Both of them attend Stoneybrook Academy, a private school in Kristy's neighborhood. Her adopted sister, Emily, is four, and in preschool. She was adopted from Vietnam when she was two. Back then, the doctor described her as "language delayed", since she was having trouble learning English, after hearing only Vietnamese for the first two years of her life, and she was way behind kids her age with learning her shapes and colors, as well as counting and matching, but with some tutoring from me, she was able to catch up, and I still tutor her from time to time.

Mary Anne is the BSC secretary. She's almost fifteen, but will be a sophomore at SHS. Mary Anne was just a baby when her mother died, and her dad remarried about a couple of years ago. She lives with her dad, stepmother, stepsister, and cat in a renovated barn.

Stacey McGill is the treasurer of the BSC, as well as my best friend, the first one I ever really had. Not that I wasn't good friends with Kristy and Mary Anne, but I always felt like I was older than them, even though we were the same age, with our interests. I always liked art, and Kristy and Mary Anne were still playing with dolls and dressing up stuffed animals right up until we were going into seventh grade. Stacey's also fifteen, a SHS sophomore, and a NYC native. She's also diabetic, and has to stick to a strict diet.

Abby Stevenson and Dawn Schafer are our alternate officers, which means that one of them takes over if someone has to miss a meeting. Dawn is also Mary Anne's stepsister, because her mom is married to Mary Anne's dad. You see, Mr. Spier and Mrs. Schafer were high-school sweethearts, but in true _Romeo & Juliet _fashion, her parents didn't approve of the relationship, so they sent her to college in California, where she started a new life. When Dawn and Mary Anne found out about their parents, they reintroduced them, and before you could play "Here Comes the Bride", Mr. Spier and Mrs. Schafer got married, and the two families moved in together. Dawn is originally from California, and was only twelve when her parents divorced. When that happened, Mrs. Schafer brought Dawn and her brother, Jeff, who's now twelve, to Stoneybrook, because it's the town where she grew up. Sadly, though, Jeff never adjusted to life in Connecticut, so he moved back to California to live with his dad. Dawn also went back for a six-month stay, but we were glad when she came back.

Abby is originally from Long Island, and moved to Stoneybrook when she was in eighth grade. She's also almost fifteen, but will be a sophomore at SHS. She has a twin sister named Anna, and they were only nine when their father was killed in a car accident. Abby never lets it get to her, though.

The BSC also has two junior officers, Mallory Pike and Jessica Ramsey, and they're thirteen years old. Jessi's in eighth grade at SMS, and Mal attends a boarding school in Massachusetts, but I've heard rumors that she's planning to return to Stoneybrook for high school, so we're really glad.

Mallory has seven siblings, and three of them are triplets. The triplets, Adam, Byron, and Jordan, are twelve and in seventh grade; her sister, Vanessa, is eleven and in sixth grade. They attend SMS, but the others attend Stoneybrook Elementary: Nicky—oh, excuse me, _Nick—_is ten and in fifth grade; Margo's nine and in fourth grade; and Claire's seven and in second grade.

Jessi lives with her parents, her Aunt Cecelia, who moved in to help when Mrs. Ramsey returned to work, her ten-year-old sister, Becca (short for Rebecca), who's in fifth grade at SES, and her three-year-old brother, John Junior, or Squirt, as Jessi says the nurses at the hospital called him, because he was so tiny.

The BSC also has three associate members and an honorary member that we can call on when we're overloaded with jobs. Guess what? Two of them are guys. Logan Bruno is Mary Anne's boyfriend. He moved here from Kentucky when we were in eighth grade. Shannon Kilbourne lives across the street from Kristy, is in tenth grade at Stoneybrook Day School, which is another private school in Kristy's neighborhood, and the only BSC member to go to one. Like Kristy, Stacey, Dawn, and me, they're fifteen, and Logan will be a sophomore at SHS.

That leaves Jason and Bebe Everett. (Bebe's our honorary member, by the way.) They're not only stepsiblings, but they're also the only ones not born in this country. Bebe was born in Canada, and came to the United States with her dad when she was barely old enough to talk, but she has a very subtle accent. Bebe's twelve and in seventh grade at SMS.

Jason is my boyfriend. He's sixteen and will be a sophomore at SHS. He was born in Scotland, and came to the United States with his mom when he was four. The interesting thing about Jason is that unlike most people who come to America as children,his accent never went away completely. When I first met Jason, he sounded like a cross between Ewan McGregor (in his pre-_Star Wars _days when he guest-starred on _ER _during the show's third season) and Nanny Stella from _Nanny 911. _Nowadays, he's _just starting _to sound like the present-day Ewan McGregor, who happens to be one of Mary Anne's favorite actors.

Anyway, back to me. I went into the kitchen, where I found Mom sitting at the kitchen table and Dad serving breakfast.

"Good morning," Dad said as I sat down at the kitchen table.

"Good morning," I answered.

"Ready for school?" Mom asked.

I nodded as I finished my piece of toast with peanut butter, which is one of the ways I like it: with either peanut butter, apple butter, or regular butter and cinnamon. "Well, see you later," I said as I finished eating and gathered up my purse and notebook.

"See you," Dad said as I headed out the door.

I walked to SHS, and met up with Stacey and Mary Anne near the entrance. Just as I got there, I saw Dawn coming back with her schedule.

When I picked up my schedule, here's what I saw:

**1****st**** period-Art**

** 2****nd**** period-Remedial Math **(whoopity-doo)

**3****rd**** period-Japanese**

** 4****th**** period-study hall**

** 5****th**** period-lunch**

** 6****th**** period-Remedial English **(again, whoopity-doo)

**7****th**** period-World Geography**

** 8****th**** period-Remedial Science **(one more time, whoopity-f-in-doo)

The bell rang, and I went to homeroom with Kristy and Jason. After homeroom, I went to Art class. "Hi, Mrs. Howe," I said.

"Hi, Claudia," she answered. "You're in my Art II class this year."

The morning was pretty average. I had first period Art with Mrs. Howe and second period Remedial Math with Mrs. Mayer.

Third period was Japanese. Mr. Hung was the teacher. "Just for the record, I'm no relation to William Hung," he told us. The class laughed.

I thought Japanese would be an interesting language to learn. Mimi had tried teaching me several times, but I just wasn't interested. I guess peoples' tastes change as they get older. You see, Mom was born in Japan, and came to the United States when she was a kid. Mimi was an adult, though, and she had a wonderful accent, until her stroke. I even remembered that when we were quizzing Mimi with flash cards to improve her vocabulary, she'd sometimes say the Japanese, instead of the English—a condition that the doctor called aphasia—word for the object on the card, unless we reminded her to use English.

Fourth period was study hall with Dawn. During the period, I looked over my Japanese textbook to see if there were any words I recognized as ones that Mimi had said, or tried to teach me.

Fifth period was lunch. Stacey, Dawn, Abby, and I sat at a table near the one we'd sat at last year. Honestly, I think the freshmen must sit at the same tables every year. The day's lunch consisted of a pizzaburger, French fries, fruit cocktail, and milk.

"It's a good thing I brought my lunch," Dawn commented. She'd brought a peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwich with low-fat chips and a can of Diet Vernor's. Stacey had brought a fruit salad and a bottle of water.

"So, how was everyone's first day back?" I asked, taking a bite of fruit cocktail.

"Fine, Mommy," Abby said. The rest of us burst into giggles.

"I'm looking forward to World Geography," Stacey said, taking a sip of water.

"You'll like it," Abby said, dipping a french fry in ranch sauce—no ketchup for her, because she's allergic to tomatoes—and eating it. "I had it fourth period."

"Thanks," Dawn said, finishing her sandwich.

At that moment, the bell rang. My friends and I threw our trash away, and went our separate ways.

Sixth period was Remeidal English with Mrs. Alden. Seventh period was World Geography with Mr. Wright. Kristy, Mary Anne, Stacey, Logan, and Jason were in my class. We were told that we'd be divided into groups, be assigned a continent, and do a group report, which would be due at the end of the semester. I was put in a group with Jason and Stacey, and our report was on Asia.

Eighth period was Remedial Science with Mrs. Martinez. Like some of the other teachers, she reminded us that she was there to help, and not to be afraid to ask for it.

As the final bell rang, I ran to my locker, got out a couple of books, and headed to the entrance. I decided that this year was going to be the best year ever.


	2. Chapter 2: October, Jason

_**CHAPTER 2: October—Jason**_

__It was the first Friday in October. I arrived at school and parked my motor scooter.

In Chorus, Mr. Metz announced that our Christmas concert was ten weeks away, so we'd be getting our music that day. As each piece of music was handed to me, I put it in my folder and put my folder in the designated area. In fact, one of the pieces of music we got was "Do They Know It's Christmas?" from 1984. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Metz decided to give me the solo.

Second period was math with none of my BSC friends. Third period was science with Mary Anne and Dawn. I sat behind Dawn, and gave her my homework to turn in. "Thanks," she answered, smiling that gorgeous smile of hers.

"You got it," I answered.

Fourth period was English with Kristy and Mary Anne. We gave our journals to Ms. Peters, who was going to grade them over the weekend and give them back to us on Monday.

Fifth period was study hall with Kristy, Mary Anne, and Logan. I sat behind Kristy and beside Logan. We worked on our homework, but I mostly thought about the Christmas concert.

At lunch time, the four of us sat at our usual table. The day's lunch consisted of a cheeseburger, tater tots, corn, and milk. By the way, the school's milk is the nastiest-tasting crap under the sun, so I either bring a juice box from home, or get a can of soda from the vending machine. I'm glad the cafeteria food here is _slightly _better than at SMS or my old school on Long Island. (Can you say "Board of Health"?) In fact, I haven't packed my lunch a single day since the first day of school last year. Well, except for when they were having something I didn't like, or when I didn't have the money for lunch.

"So, what's new with you guys?" Kristy asked, opening her milk.

"Well, the Christmas concert is in ten weeks," I said, dipping a tater tot in the ketchup and eating it.

"Hey, great!" Logan said, taking a bite of corn.

Mary Anne smiled at me. I could tell that she was remembering when I'd played the male lead in _Carnival _at SMS about a couple of years ago.

The rest of the day flew by. I had seventh period World Geography with Kristy, Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, and Logan. I had eighth period French with none of my BSC friends. Oh, well. Or, as the French say, _c'est la vie. _(By the way, Kristy'll probably kill me for saying this, but that was one of the things she and Cary Retlin said to each other when they broke up last spring.)

After school, I got on my motor scooter, dropped Bebe off at the Kormans', and went to the Papadakises for a baby-sitting job. That day, eleven-year-old Linny would be hanging out with Kristy's brother, David Michael, or DM, as Bebe and I call him, and Mrs. Papadakis was taking four-year-old Sari to the dentist, so there would be just nine-year-old Hannie, who happens to be friends with Kristy's stepsister, Karen Brewer. Like Karen, she always comes up to me, wanting a hug. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. But this time, instead of being her usual, happy self, she was a little quieter than usual. In case you're wondering, it is possible for little kids to be quiet. Why else do you think adults keep reminding them to use their indoor voices?

"Is something wrong, Hannie?" I asked. As soon as I said that, she burst into tears. To be honest with you, I thought I was going to have to spend the whole afternoon just consoling her.

I led Hannie over to the couch and sat on the arm. "Hannie," I said, putting my hands on her shoulders. "Hannie, look at me, please."

Hannie wiped her eyes and looked up at me. Her dark brown eyes were red, puffy, and streaming with tears. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"N-Noodle," she sobbed.

"Your dog?" I asked. She nodded. "What happened to her, darling?"

"Sh-she died," Hannie said in a trembling voice. "Linny and I came home from school today and found her in the backyard. Mom said that she was very old, and in very bad shape, probably worse than Louie."

"Who's Louie?" I asked.

"Kristy's collie," Hannie explained, sniffling and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. I stood up, and we walked outside and sat down on the front doorstep. "They had to put him down a couple of years ago." She sounded relatively calm, but she started crying again. "At least Kristy's family got to say good-bye to Louie! I didn't even get a chance to say good-bye to Noodle! None of us did! It's just not fair, Jason! Why did this have to happen?"

"Oh, Hannie, shh," I whispered as she flung her arms around my neck. I held her and we rocked back and forth. I rubbed her back as she sobbed into my shoulder. No wonder Mrs. Papadakis needed a sitter. It wasn't just because she had to take Sari to the dentist, but also because she needed someone to be there for her kids and to help them through such a painful loss.


	3. Chapter 3: November, Kristy

_**CHAPTER 3: November—Kristy**_

__It was the day before Thanksgiving. Karen and Andrew were coming that afternoon and spending the weekend with us, then returning to their mom's for the rest of the month before returning for their month-long stay on December 1st. They would spend Christmas Day with their mom, thought, and we'd have the holiday with them on Christmas Eve. We'd arranged it that way so they wouldn't have two celebrations in one day. Last year, we'd had them for the noon meal, then they spent that weekend with their mom. This year, they'd be spending Thanksgiving with us, but they'd had their dinner with their mom the day before.

It reminded me a little of the time we'd gone to Australia, which was after my SMS graduation, as well as Charlie's SHS graduation. You see, Unity Insurance, the company Watson works for had sent him to Sydney to open a branch of their office. (Karen and Andrew had been staying with us then, too, and Watson decided that they could spend that summer with their mom.) The BSC had been invited to go, and we got to meet our Australian counterpart, a baby-sitting club called Baby-sitters, Inc. Their president happens to be the Hobarts' cousin, and they operate pretty much the same way as the BSC. I'm told that it got started soon after the Hobarts moved to Stoneybrook, and Mal had told Ben about how the BSC operates, so he told his cousin, and she started their club. One of the members and her sister had been living in an orphanage at the time we'd been there, and they got adopted shortly before we left.

Anyway, I'll never forget the time that Karen and Andrew had two dinners in one day. It made Andrew sleepy, and it gave Karen a stomachache. Watson and his ex-wife promised them that they'd never have to go through that again.

Okay, back to reality. The front door flew open around dinner time. "We're here!" Karen's voice shouted.

We went into the front hall. "Hi, you guys," I said.

"Hi," Andrew said.

"Ready for tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yup," he answered.

Karen and Andrew put their knapsacks in their rooms, then joined us for dinner.

I just knew that this was going to be a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The next morning, Charlie arrived from NYU. "Hi," I said as soon as I'd answered the door. He hadn't changed much since last summer, but he was starting to get some stubble on his chin, so I assumed he was trying to grow a beard.

"Hi, Sis," he said. We stepped into the living room, where Mom was rearranging the magazines on the coffee table.

"Hi, Mom," Charlie said. Upon hearing his voice, Mom immediately stopped what she was doing, and looked up.

"Charlie, darling!" she exclaimed happily as she covered him with kisses, as if she hadn't seen him in twenty years. "How are you?"

"Oh, I've been doing all right," he said. "Oh, you're not going to believe this, but I made the dean's list!"

"Really? That's wonderful! I guess all those years of making sure you did your homework really paid off, huh?"

Charlie nodded in agreement. "And you've still got quite a while to go in that department," he said. He was, of course, referring to the rest of us who were still living at home. I still got a good laugh, though.

"Is dinner ready?" I asked Mom.

"Almost," she answered as she headed to the kitchen and stuck a spoon in the bowl of dressing. "Would you like to put he dressing on the table for me?"

"Sure," I answered. I carried the bowl of dressing intot he dining room and put it on the table.

"Kids, dinner's ready!" Nannie called.

The rest of the family came to the table. Mom and Watson sat on the ends. Nannie, Emily, Sam, and Charlie sat on one side, and Karen, Andrew, Emily, and I sat on the other. "

As we started passing the serving dishes around, I felt completely happy about the events of the day, namely the fact that my own oldest brother had made the dean's list. I felt that this had been one hell of a great Thanksgiving.


	4. Chapter 4: December, Mary Anne

_**CHAPTER 4: December—Mary Anne**_

__It was December 23rd. We were making the first of three trips to the Hartford Airport. Today, we were dropping Dawn off and picking up Grandma Baker. (Dawn was going to spend Christmas in California with her dad, her stepmother, Carol, and Jeff.) We'd be taking Grandma back to the airport on December 28th, and picking up Dawn and Jeff. Jeff would spend New Year's with us, then we'd take him back to the airport on January 2nd. Since we were making three trips in ten days, it would be our version of _Picking Up And Dropping Off._

"Have fun," I told Dawn as we entered the terminal.

"I will," she promised.

When we got near the security area, Dad said, "Well, Dawn, this is as far as we go."

"Okay," Dawn agreed as she hugged us, then went through security. Ever since that fateful September 11th, the people picking up and dropping off passengers haven't been allowed past the security area, which I think really sucks. We saw Dawn's plane leave, then checked the board to see where Grandma's flight would be coming in, and we went to that gate area.

About forty-five minutes later, Grandma's plane touched down, and a few minutes later, we spotted her coming out of the security area. "Grandma!" I shouted.

"Hi, Mary Anne!" she said.

"It's great to see you," I said as I hugged her.

"You, too."

After we got Grandma's luggage, the four of us headed out of the terminal and toward the parking lot. I was really looking forward to Christmas, because this year, Grandma's plane wasn't grounded somewhere due to fog, heavy snow, or anything like that. I never want to go through that again!

On Christmas morning, I woke up early. "Merry Christmas, Tiggy," I said.

"Mew," Tigger answered.

"Mew," I echoed, then grinned.

I put on my bathrobe and picked up Tigger, and when I got downstairs, I found Dad and Sharon having coffee in the living room. Actually, Dad was having coffee, and Sharon was having her favorite kind of tea, Lady Grey.

"Merry Christmas," I said.

Just then, Grandma joined us. She was staying in Dawn's room while Dawn was in California. "Merry Christmas," she said.

Soon, the four of us tore into the presents. As the narrator of _A Christmas Story _says, "We plunged into the cornucopia, quivering with desire and the ecstasy of unbridled avarice." On the upside, Sharon didn't give Dad a bowling ball and accidentally set it on his you-know-where, making him talk like Mickey Mouse.

Anyway, I got a new shirt from Grandma. It's purple and black striped with elbow-length sleeves. I think that when I wear it, I'll feel like a fugitive from _Zoom. _(I saw that on _I Love the '70s _on VH-1, and for the life of me, I can't do the arm trick that Bernadette Yao did.) Dawn had left me a cross necklace. Dad gave me _To Be Or Not To Be, High Anxiety, _and _The Producers. _And yes, it was the new one with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Sharon gave me a bracelet with sapphire studs on it.

Later that morning, Logan stopped by. "Merry Christmas," he said, handing me my present.

I opened it. He had given me _Blazing Saddles, History of the World—Part 1, _and _Young Frankenstein. _On the upside, he didnt' give me _Buffy the Vampire Slayer, _because I rented that once, and it SUCKED! Then again, Sharon, Dawn, and I were acting as "bachelor girls" while Dad was away on a business trip, and we decided to rent stupid movies one night. That's also a time I'll never forget, because while Dad was away for those two weeks, I fell off my bike and sprained my ankle.

Logan left about an hour later, and a few minutes after that, Sharon came into the living room. "Dinner's ready," she announced.

We sat down at the dining room table. Dad and Sharon sat on the ends, and Grandma and I sat on the sides. After everyone had been served, Dad turned to me and said, "You know, Mary Anne, I think you're old enough to have your ears pierced," he said.

"Really? Could I?" I asked. I thought this day would never come, but a small part of me was still a little nervous. You see, one summer, us BSC members had been counselors-in-training, or CITs, at Camp Mohawk. Well, actually, Jessi and Mal had been junior CITs; they wanted to be CITs, but were told that they weren't old enough. Anyway, several of our baby-sitting charges—ones who were six and older, that is, since that's the youngest Camp Mohawk will take them—had been campers, and my co-CIT, as well as the ones in the cabin next door, decided to pierce my ears one day. Thankfully, they didn't get very far before they chickened out. I also heard from Kristy that her fellow CITs tried to give her a makeover, but the only thing about her that changed was that she'd wear make-up on rare occasions.

"I think so," Dad said.

"You know, your mom was about your age when she got her ears pierced," Grandma said.

"Really?" I repeated. Grandma nodded.

"If you'd like, I can go to the mall with you and sign the paperwork for you to have it done," Dad said.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed.

Wow, I just couldn't believe it. After all these years of not wearing anything on my ears, it was finally going to happen.

Three days later, we returned to the Hartford Airport. Every time we passed by a mirror or plate-glass window, I'd admire my new earrings, which were little gold balls, and I'd bought a pair of tiny silver hoop earrings to wear when I was allowed to change my earrings in a few weeks. Anyway, the experience itself wasn't that painful, but even so, Dad and Grandma held my hands the whole time. While the woman was piercing my ears, I was remembering a story that Mal had once told about when her family had gone to the mall, and she, Margo, and Claire had watched a girl get her ears pierced. When the woman brought out the piercing gun, Mal said that Claire screamed, and Margo announced to everyone within a hundred-mile radius that she was going to hurl. I also remembered when the entire BSC had gone to the mall. Mal and Jessi had gotten their ears pierced, Dawn had gotten a second hole in each ear, and Claud had gotten a second hole in one ear. I don't know why, but Claud almost fainted when she got off the stool.

When we got into the terminal, we checked to see where Grandma's plane would be leaving from, as well as where Dawn and Jeff's plane would be coming in. We noticed that we had an hour and a half between the two flights. Grandma's plane was scheduled to leave at 4:30, and Dawn and Jeff's plane was scheduled to come in at 6:00. We needed that hour and half to get from one gate to the other, as well as get a bite to eat.

As soon as we got near the security area, I gave Grandma a hug. "See you later. I'll try to come out this summer if I can, okay?" I said.

"Okay," Grandma agreed. Then after she hugged Dad and Sharon, she went through security.

After we watched Grandma's plane take off, we checked the schedule to see where Dawn and Jeff's flight would be coming in. We stopped at the Burger King on the concourse for a bite to eat.

After we'd sat down with our food, a huge smile spread across my face. "What is it, Mary Anne?" Dad asked.

"I was just remembered the cast party we'd had after _Carnival _opened," I said.

"Oh, yes," Dad remembered. "I think you told us about that."

"In fact, Dawn told me that after she heard Watson telling the kids to step away from the sugar, she was almost tempted to tell them that they were too close to it!"

"I think they were, too!" Sharon laughed. "Anything else?"

"I was also remembering the talk I'd had with Jackie Rodowsky before the final dress rehearsal, when I was reminding him not to ad-lib or change his lines. Stacey says that she heard me saying, 'This is not Burger King, and you can't have it your way'."

"Did you really say that?" Sharon asked.

I nodded and giggled. Then after we finished eating, Dad threw our trash away, and we went to the other gate.

At 6:00 on the nose, we saw the other plane touch down. We didn't have much of a view, because we were outside the security area. A few minutes later, we saw Dawn and Jeff coming into the terminal. "Hi, you guys!" I said.

"Hi, Mary Anne!" Dawn exclaimed as the two of us hugged. "Oh, you got your ears pierced! I love them!"

"Thanks," I grinned. "And thanks for the necklace."

"You're welcome," she answered.

"Dawn and Jeff, your presents are at the house," Sharon said.

"Okay," Jeff said. "Thanks."

The five of us walked out of the airport together. It had been a wonderful Christmas, and I knew it was going to be an even better New Year's.


	5. Chapter 5: January, Dawn

_**CHAPTER 5: January—Dawn**_

__I arrived at school on the day after New Year's. Jeff would be flying back to California that night.

"Hi, you guys," I said to Kristy and Abby as I headed to my locker.

"Hi, Dawn," Abby answered.

"Have a nice Christmas?" Kristy asked.

"Yup," I answered as I got my math, Home Ec., and science books out of my locker, then headed to homeroom.

The morning passed quickly. I had first period math with Kristy, Mary Anne, Abby, and Logan. I had second period Home Ec. With none of my BSC friends. I had third period science with Mary Anne and Jason. I had fourth period study hall with Claud.

At lunch time, Claud, Stacey, Abby, and I sat at our usual table. The day's lunch was Cook's Choice, which was spaghetti, garlic bread, pear halves, and milk. Being the vegetarian/health nut that I am, and considering the fact that Abby's allergic to tomatoes, we chose not to have spaghetti sauce on ours. I had mushroom sauce on mine, and Abby had soy sauce and olive oil on the side. Ick.

"So, did everyone have a nice holiday?" Abby asked as we sat down with our lunch trays.

"Yup," Claud said, opening her milk.

"Ditto," Stacey said, taking a bite of a pear half.

"Jeff's going back to California tonight," I told them. "Oh, do any of you remember my friend, Sunny?"

"I think so," Claud said, taking a sip of milk.

"Well, her mom's in the hospital with cancer, and the doctors have only given her six months to live," I said.

_"Oy," _Abby said.

"Poor Sunny," Stacey added, taking a bite of spaghetti.

"Yeah, well, this summer, I'm going out to California to be with her," I said.

"That's good," Claud said as we got up and took our trays to the trash can.

The afternoon also passed quickly. I had my afternoon classes with none of my BSC friends: sixth period English, seventh period French, and eighth period World Geography.

After the last bell rang, I went to my locker, got out a couple of books, and headed to the entrance. As soon as Mary Anne joined me, we went to the Barretts/DeWitts for a baby-sitting job.

The Barretts/DeWitts are a blended family, almost like the family on _The Brady Bunch, _but more like _Yours, Mine & Ours. _The only difference is, Mrs. Barrett has three kids, two girls and a boy, and Mr. DeWitt has four kids, two girls and two boys. The story goes that Mr. Barrett had vanished few years ago, and when I first met them about three years ago, Mrs. Barrett and the kids were so disorganized (like my mom, multiplied by ten), but after I had a talk with her, Mrs. Barrett shaped up and became more organized.

The Barrett kids are ten-year-old Buddy (AKA Hamilton Jr.), seven-year-old Suzi, and four-year-old Marnie. The DeWitt kids are Lindsey, who's Buddy's age, eigh-year-old Taylor, six-year-old Madeline, and Ryan, who's Marnie's age.

When I first started sitting for them, the two older Barrett kids, Buddy and Suzi, literally became attached to me. Buddy would tell me about bad stuff that had happened at school, and Suzi would sometimes tell on Buddy. That was another reason why I had a talk with their mother. After that, they started going to their mother with their problems, like any kid should.

"Hi," I said when Mrs. DeWitt answered the door.

"Hi, girls," Mrs. DeWitt said. "Come on in."

We stepped into the living room. Marnie and Ryan were watching _SpongeBob SquarePants _on TV. They looked up, and ran to us.

"Hi, you guys," Mary Anne said.

"Hi, Mary Anne; hi, Dawn," Marnie said.

"Now, I've got some errands to run, so I should be back in a couple of hours, okay?" Mrs. DeWitt said. "I'll have my cell phone with me, and it will be on, if there's a problem, the number's on the bulletin board in the kitchen."

"Okay," Mary Anne said. At that moment, the five older ones came in.

"Hi, Dawn! Hi, Mary Anne!" Buddy said.

"Now, there's popcorn in the cupboard for their snack," Mrs. DeWitt said as she put her coat on. "Franklin should be home in about an hour, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

"'Bye, kids," Mrs. DeWitt said. "See you later."

"'Bye," the kids called.

As soon as Mrs. DeWitt left, we fixed the popcorn, and the older ones started their homework. As promised, Mr. DeWitt came home about an hour later. After he paid us, we got on our bikes and returned home.

As soon as we got home, we headed to the airport. We hated to miss the BSC meeting, but Abby said that she'd gladly cover for Mary Anne today. We checked Jeff's suitcase at the curbside check-in, then went into the terminal.

"I'll see you this summer, okay?" I said.

"Okay," Jeff said, "but I still wish you could live out there with us again."

"I'll think about it, okay?" I said.

"Okay," he answered. We each took turns hugging him, then he went through security.

As we watched Jeff's plane taxi up the runway and leave the ground, I decided to consider his proposal. Who knows? I might just do that.


	6. Chapter 6: February, Stacey

_**CHAPTER 6: February—Stacey**_

__I was walking toward the school entrance on the Monday before President's Day, and there, on the bulletin board, were the cast lists for the all-school play, _The Outsiders, _and the senior class play, _The West Side Waltz._

When I left SHS, I went over to Charlotte Johanssen's house. Since she was now in middle school, and felt that she no longer needed a baby-sitter, we just hung out together from time to time.

"Hi, Char," I said when she answered the door.

"Hi, Stacey!" she said. The two of us got on our bikes and headed downtown. The sun was out, a light wind was blowing, and there wasn't a snowflake in sight. It felt more like the middle of October than the middle of February.

"I hear it's supposed to snow tonight," I said as we left Kimball Street.

"Really? Do you think we'll get enough to cancel school?" Charlotte asked.

"I thought you liked school," I teased her.

"Yeah, but it's nice to have a vacation every now and then."

When we arrived downtown, I asked, "What did you want to do first?"

"Let's look in some of the stores," Charlotte suggested.

"Okay," I agreed. Before too long, we found ourselves outside Polly's Fine Candy. Polly and her sister had long since retired, and the store was now under new management.

We stepped into the store. "I have just enough for some of these," Charlotte said, pointing to the thumbprint cookies.

"Can I help you?" the woman behind the counter asked. (By the way, I should mention that she was Polly's great-granddaughter, and Polly had left her the store in her will.)

"Yeah," Charlotte said. "I'd like half a dozen of the thumbprint cookies."

"Sure thing," the woman said. She filled a bag with the cookies. Charlotte paid her, then when we got outside again, she put the bag in her bike basket, and we were off.

As we pedaled back to Charlotte's house, I said, "You know what Dawn recently told me? She said that her friend's mom is dying of cancer."

"Oh, that's terrible," Charlotte said. Then after a minute of silence, she said, "You know, I won't be eleven until June, but I'd still like to be part of the Baby-sitters Club."

"I'll see what I can do," I told her.

"Thanks."

When we got back to Charlotte's house, I left for the BSC meeting.

During the meeting, I told my friends what Charlotte had said. "It just might be a possibility," Kristy said.

"Good. How should we go about it?" I asked.

"Well, let's train her as a baby-sitter first, then maybe we'll consider making her an official BSC member after her birthday," Kristy said.

"How about next week?" I suggested. "That should give me plenty of time to tell her."

"Good deal," Kristy said.

"Oh, and Kristy?" Claud said. "Try not to give her a baby-sitting test, like we did with Mallory. That had been your stupidest idea ever, especially the picture of the divestive system."

"That's di-_ges_-tive," Dawn corrected her.

"Whatever."

"I won't," Kristy promised. "We'll just do some basic training."

"Left, left, left, right, left," Abby said, sounding like a drill sergeant, making us giggle. When we calmed down, she said, "Good idea, Kristy."

I couldn't wait to tell Charlotte what we'd decided.

That evening after dinner, I called Charlotte. "Guess what?" I said. "We talked about it, and we've decided that you can be a baby-sitter."

"Really? That's great!" she shrieked. Her cries were so deafening that I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

"Uh, Char, I think you just cost me the hearing in that ear," I said.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just so excited, that's all."

A minute later, she calmed down. "We'll have to train you, of course," I reminded her. At the same time, I thought, _I think it's time you switched to decaf there, girl!_

"I understand," she said.

"We'll start training next week."

"Great. I can't wait."

As I hung up the phone, I turned toward the window just in time to see the first few snowflakes fall. As I watched the snow, I felt really happy for Charlotte. She was finally going to get her wish to be a baby-sitter.


	7. Chapter 7: March, Logan

_**CHAPTER 7: March—Logan**_

__I arrived at school on the last day of school before spring break. According to the calendar, it was also the first day of spring, but I couldn't see it yet. It wasn't snowing anymore, but it was still pretty chilly, and a light rain was falling.

King caught up with me at my locker as I was putting my jacket and umbrella away. As usual, he couldn't resist ribbing me about my baby-sitting. Fortunately, he doesn't do it as often, since he was the one who found a lost Johnny Hobart at the health fair when we were in eighth grade. "So, Bruno, how many diaper pails will you have to clean out during vacation?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know, as many as it'll take for you to come up with some new material," I answered. With that, I went to homeroom.

After homeroom, I met up with Kristy, Mary Anne, Dawn, and Abby outside the math classroom. The five of us went into the room and sat in the back row.

As soon as the teacher, Mr. Warren, entered the room, he said, "Good morning."

"Good morning," we mumbled.

"Hey, it's the last day before spring break, let's see some enthusiasm here," the teacher commented. That, of course, sent the class into a round of laughter. I could be wrong, but I think I heard King or one of his buddies let loose with that God-awful high-pitched laugh from _Amadeus._

After math, the rest of my morning ran like this: second period English with Stacey; third period gym and fourth period French with none of my BSC friends, and fifth period study hall with Kristy, Mary Anne, and Jason.

Sixth period was lunch. The four of us sat at our usual table. The day's lunch consisted of a fish sandwich, french fries, mixed fruit, and milk.

"So, what are you guys doing for Easter?" I asked as I opened my milk.

"Well, Sharon's brother and his family are coming for the weekend, and bringing Amy," Mary Anne answered.

I remembered when Dawn and Mary Anne had told me about Amy staying with them while her parents were on a trip to London a couple of years ago, and how she'd been a brat most of the time she'd been there. I'd heard that she'd even escaped from Dawn and Mary Anne while they were playing hide-and-seek, and Stacey had found her at the day care center at Bellair's. At the time, Stacey and the BSC had a bit of a falling-out, due to her acting way too mature for them, spending too much time with her now ex-boyfriend, Robert Brewster, and his crowd, and finding Amy had been her ticket back in. I really hoped Amy had matured a little over the past couple of years.

"Karen and Andrew are spending the weekend with us, but they'll go back to their mom's that night," Kristy said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Staying home," Jason said.

"Wow," I said. "Not much to do, huh?"

Everyone laughed. As soon as we'd calmed down, we took our trays to the trash can. At that moment, the bell rang.

That afternoon, I had seventh period World Geography with Kristy, Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, and Jason. I had eighth period science with Kristy and Abby.

There was no track practice that afternoon, so I just put on my jacket, grabbed my umbrella and a couple of books, and headed home. I was looking forward to spring break.

That night, I baby-sat for Matt Braddock. We've baby-sat for him lots of times. His older sister, Haley, who's eleven, is a BSC member. That night, Haley was hanging out with Vanessa Pike, so there was just nine-year-old Matt.

Matt is profoundly deaf, and uses sign language, but I've recently heard from Jessi that Matt is learning to lip-read. The only thing is, we still have to use sign language, because it's the only way he can communicate with us.

"Hi, Matt," I said, signing at the same time. "How are you?"

"Great," he answered.

"Would you like to play, or would you like something to eat?" I asked.

"Let's play for now," he said. "How about my new _Jeopardy _game?"

I nodded. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved that game (and Dad would even do his impression of the noise the game show makes whenever someone hits a Daily Double whenever we watch it), but the thing is, Matt has the junior edition of the board game, and a lot of the questions are way too easy for someone my age. The way we usually play is, we show each other the card, then write down the answers on the notepad, and show each other. Even though I wasn't sure I wanted to play, it would eat least give us something to do.

About an hour later, Matt told me that he was hungry. "Okay, let's get something to eat. Your mom left some tomato soup, and I can make us grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Okay. Sounds great."

At that moment, Haley came in. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," I answered. "We were just getting ready to have some tomato soup and grilled cheese. Would you like to join us?"

Haley shook her head. "I had something to eat at Vanessa's house," she said.

"That's okay," I answered.

While Matt and I are our dinner, Haley watched the Braddocks' _It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown _DVD. About forty-five minutes later, Mrs. Braddock came home.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"It went pretty well," I told her.

After she paid me, I went out the door.

On Easter Sunday, we had the annual Easter egg hunt for Kerry and Hunter. I was involved, too, until I turned twelve. "I'm getting too old for this, Mom," twelve-year-old Kerry complained. Part of me was expecting her to say the "I'm getting too old for this shit" line from _Lethal Weapon._

"This is your last year, honey," Mom said.

"All right," Kerry said.

As Kerry and Hunter hunted Easter eggs, I couldn't help thinking that spring vacation had gone very well.


	8. Chapter 8: April, Jason

A/N: Yes, I know that a high school wouldn't normally have their spring band and choir concerts at the end of April, but for story purposes, they do.

_**CHAPTER 8: April—Jason**_

__It was the last Friday in April. I had seen the all-school and senior class plays earlier in the month, and decided that next year, I would try out for the all-school play. Anyway, tonight was our spring concert.

"You nervous?" Mum asked as I put on my tux jacket.

I shook my head. You see, the reason why she'd asked me that is because I would be singing a solo during the concert. I would be singing "Music of the Night" from _Phantom of the Opera. _I personally thought it was a coincidence, since I'd dressed up as the Phantom for the last two Halloween dances. I'd seen the show in New York the summer before we'd moved to Stoneybrook, and it was the most awesome show I'd ever seen. Anyway, I'd asked Mr. Metz if I could wear my Phantom mask during my solo, and he not only said no, but he also said that when I was the choir director, he didn't care if I had all my students sing an aria from _The Barber of Seville _in the key of M, while baking an upside-down seven-layer cake in hoop skirts they hooped themselves; but until then, it was his choir, his call. Oh, well.

"Ready?" Steve asked when I stepped into the living room.

"Aye," I answered. The four of us got into the SUV and headed to thei high school.

When we arrived, I gave Mum a kiss as I got out of the SUV. "See you later," I said.

"See you," she answered.

I went inside to join the others. Mr. Metz was organizing us according to height. I was placed in the third row, which was the second one from the back. There would still be a space for me to squeeze through when it came time for my solo, though.

About half an hour later, after vocal warm-ups and everything else, we filed into the auditorium and took our places on the stage.

"Welcome to the spring concert," Mr. Metz told the audience, which mostly consisted of our families and friends and a few BSC clients. "Our theme this year is Let's Go To The Movies. We have a wonderful program for you this evening."

The opening number was "Summer Nights" from _Grease. _Pete Black sang the guy solo, and Marie Headley sang the girl solo.

The next number was "I Feel Pretty" from _West Side Story, _and it was sung by Marie, Cokie Mason, Grace Blume, and a girl named Beth Smith. Kristy once told me that was Cokie's kind of song, because she's such a narcissistic snob.

Finally, it was my turn. I had asked Beth to be the Christine to my Phantom, which meant that she was to stand there, look pretty, and react while I was singing.

After I finished singing, I got a standing ovation. I guessed that I'd finally been accepted, not only in Stoneybrook, but America in general. _Well,it's about bloody time, _I thought as I returned to my place.

The concert pressed on. Some of the other songs we did were a _Lion King _medley (when Mr. Metz was reminding us about the plot line for that movie, Alan Gray actually said, "Is it a good story?"): "Circle of Life" (Erica Blumberg sang the solo on that one), "Hakuna Matata", and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" (Austin Bentley and Sarah Roberts sang the solos on that one), as well as "Beauty and the Beast", "A Whole New World" from _Aladdin _(Rick Chow and Grace Blume sang the solos on that one), "Go the Distance" from _Hercules, _"Sunrise, Sunset" from _Fiddler on the Roof _(Jeff Cummings and Shawna Riverson sang the solos on that one), and "Suddenly Seymour" from _Little Shop of Horrors, _which was basically performed by Shawna and I, but the girls sang backup toward the end of the song.

Soon, it was time for the finale, which was "Friends" by Michael W. Smith, which has been a spring choir concert tradition for the past ten years, or so I've been told. Before the number, Mr. Metz introduced the seniors who were graduating this year. I knew that in just two years, I would be in their position. I wouldn't be surprised if we sang that at the graduation this year, or at my own graduation.

When the concert was over, Mum, Steve, and Bebe approached me. "That was great!" Bebe said.

"Thanks," I said.

"Wonderful," Mum said, giving me a kiss.

"Good show," Steve added.

As the four of us returned home, I was glad that all had gone well.


	9. Chapter 9: May, Abby

_**CHAPTER 9: May—Abby**_

__I got on the bus on the first Friday in May. Charlotte was going to accompany me, even though she probably would've preferred to go with Stacey, on a baby-sitting job at Kristy's house. Karen and Andrew were at their mom's, so there would be just Emily and David Michael.

When the bus got to SMS, Charlotte got on and gave her note to the bus driver. I waved at her, and she joined me in the back of the bus. "Welcome aboard the Wheeze Wagon," I said. "Please keep hands and arms inside at all times. And if you sneeze and get some on the back of the head of the person in front of you, please wipe it off and pray that said passenger doesn't knock you into next week."

Almost immediately, Charlotte went into a laughing fit. "Where do you come up with this stuff, Abby?" she managed to gasp out.

"My dad was an amateur comic himself," I said. "Well, that's what my Aunt Judith once told me."

When we'd calmed down, she asked, "How's Anna?"

"Fine," I answered. "She got her back brace off a few months ago, and has had no problems since then." You see, when SMS had their health screenings about a couple of years ago, Anna and I were sent home with notes for Mom, telling her to take us to the doctor to check for scoliosis. I had a mild case, but Anna had a severe one, enough to require a back brace, which she was to wear for two years. She was in good spirits about it, but I was acting like the stereotypical Jewish mother about it, thus forcing Anna to hate me, until I saw her sledding. Then I started to feel better about the whole situation.

"That's good news," Charlotte said. When the bus got to our stop, we got off and headed toward the Thomas-Brewer mansion. I let Charlotte ring the doorbell.

The door was answered by Kristy's grandmother, Nannie. Call me crazy, but when Nannie answered the door, I almost expected her to say "You rang?" like Lurch from _The Addams Family. _Hi, girls," she said. "Come on in."

We stepped into the front hall. "Now, David Michael should be getting off the bus soon. Kristy's at the Marshalls', so if there's a problem, and you can't reach any adult, like me, Watson, Elizabeth, one of your moms, or one of the neighbors, like Mrs. Korman, Mrs. Porter, or Mrs. Kilbourne, you can call there. I've got a garden club meeting, and then I'm going to run to the store, so I should be back in two or three hours, tops."

"Okay," Charlotte said.

"Charlotte, I'll take you home when I get back."

Charlotte nodded.

At that moment, Emily came out of the kitchen, sipping a grape Little Hug drink through a straw. "Hi!" she exclaimed.

"Hi, Emily," I said.

When Emily saw Charlotte, she hung back. "Hi," Charlotte said, kneeling down to Emily's level. "My name's Charlotte. I'll be helping Abby today, and we're going to have lots of fun."

Emily stared at Charlotte as she finished her drink and handed her empty container to me. "That's okay," Charlotte said. "I'm shy, too."

At this, Emily grinned and wrapped her arms around Charlotte's neck. Charlotte picked her up and turned to face Nannie as I threw the little drink container in the recycling bin.

"See you later, okay?" Nannie said, giving Emily a kiss.

"'Bye, Nannie!" Emily called as Nannie headed out the door and Charlotte carried her into the living room. As soon as that hideous pink car of Nannie's pulled out of the driveway, the door opened, and David Michael came in.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi, Abby," he answered.

"Would you like a snack?"

"Sure," he said.

I fixed David Michael's snack, and he sat down at the kitchen table. "Well, I see that Emily's got a new friend," he commented.

"Apparently so," I agreed.

During the afternoon, Emily and Charlotte played together, and David Michael did his homework. It was a pretty quiet afternoon, up until I noticed that Charlotte looked like she was deep in thought. "What's on your mind, Char?" I asked.

"Well, I was thinking about something that Stacey told me on our bike ride a few months ago," she answered.

"What is it?"

"She told me that Dawn's friend's mom is dying of cancer."

"I know," I said sympathetically. I remembered when Dawn had told us about that at lunch one day. "That must be so sad, huh?"

Charlotte nodded in agreement. "I was also thinking that a bunch of us could get together and make a card for Dawn's friend, you know, just to let her know that we're thinking of her."

"Oh, Char, that's a great idea!"I exclaimed. "Who should we get to sign it?"

The next thing I knew, Charlotte had run to the phone, grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil, and started writing. "Let's see," she said. "How about the Pikes, the Braddocks, the Kuhns, Karen and Andrew, the Papadakises, Nancy Dawes, the Arnold twins, Dru, Natalie, the Rodowsky boys, Jamie Newton, the Perkins girls, Jenny Prezzioso, the Gianellis, me, and of course, David Michael and Emily."

"Sounds good to me," I said.

"Hey, what's going on?" David Michael asked as he took his backpack into the living room.

"We're making a card for Dawn's friend," I told him. "Her mom's dying of cancer."

"Oh, that's horrible," he said. "I'd be more than happy to help out."

"Good," I said. "Let's get to work."

Within minutes, the four of us were seated at the dining room table with two pieces of yellow construction paper, glue, silver glitter, a hole punch, three pieces of white ribbon, and a box of Magic Markers. Charlotte picked up a black marker and drew a picture of the beach at sunset with birds in the sky. David Michael and Emily spread the glue and glitter around the picture, and at the very top, in purple marker, I wrote, "THINKING OF YOU".

After the glue dried, I put the pieces of construction paper together, punched three holes in the side, and tied them together with the pieces of ribbon. Then I opened the card, picked up a blue marker, and wrote, "Your thoughts and prayers are with you all." Finally, all three kids signed the card.

As I helped Emily wash the glue and glitter off her hands, I had a feeling that Dawn and her friend would appreciate the card.


	10. Chapter 10: June, Dawn

A/N: This is the last chapter.

_**CHAPTER 10: June—Dawn**_

__It was the next-to-last day of school, and we were all at my house, sitting around a campfire: Kristy, Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, Jason, Bebe, Mal, Vanessa, Haley, Jessi, Becca, Charlotte, Abby, Logan, Shannon, and I. Just last week, we'd made Charlotte a BSC member. We'd also been looking forward to summer vacation, even though I'd heard that Kristy, Mary Anne, and Abby were going to be spending it as counselors at Camp Mohawk, and Mal and Jessi were going to be CITs. Jason was going to be a ferry operator at Fire Island in Davis Park, New York. Their jobs wouldn't start until next week. We were also reminiscing about everything that had happened since the BSC began.

"Hey, Mary Anne, remember when you were stuck at my house for those two days during that blizzard?" Mal asked.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget that one," Mary Anne agreed. "On top of dealing with hearing about the Abominable Snowman, nobody could stock up on ice cream, cake frosting, or whatever else there was to eat, like you guys."

"Hey," Logan cut it. "If it hadn't been for me bringing you guys food, you would've starved to death by the time Mal's parents got home."

"That's true," Mary Anne agreed.

"Well, Mary Anne, you should consider yourself lucky," Stacey said. "At least you weren't stranded in a car with your mom on some back road out in the middle of nowhere."

"Or at the airport," I added.

"Well, I'm afraid I can beat all of you by a mile," Kristy said. "At least your younger siblings didn't embarrass you in front of your then-boyfriend."

That was all it took for Abby, Mal, and Jessi to start singing, _"Bart, Bart, bo Bart, banana fanna fo-"_

_ "Shut...up," _Kristy said sharply, but also trying to force herself not to laugh, I might add, and not just because she doesn't want to think about that experience again, but also because those three are such lousy singers.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go make sure the oven still works," Jason said in his Simon Cowell voice. "Oh, God, no, it's electric!" The rest of us laughed hysterically.

After we calmed down, Mal said, "Guess what?"

"Don't say 'that's what'," Jessi grinned. In case you're wondering, that used to be Claire's favorite joke, along with calling her parents "Moozie" and "Daggles", and everyone else "silly-billy-goo-goo" when she was in a silly mood. However, I've recently heard that she's _just starting _to outgrow that phase.

"What?" Claud asked.

"Well, remember that boarding school in Massachusetts that I've been going to?" she asked, making the words "boarding" and "school" sound like they were some kind of gum disease. "Get this: I never have to go back there. I talked to my parents, and we decided that I could go to high school in Stoneybrook."

"The rumors are true!" Claud exclaimed, putting her hand to her heart and acting like she was going to fall off the log she was sitting on. The rest of us burst into giggles.

When we'd calmed down, Logan asked, "Wow, how many Klondike bars did you have to bribe them with?" And another round of giggles followed.

When we'd calmed down again, Mary Anne said, "So, you're going to high school in Stoneybrook, huh?"

"Yup," Mal answered, crossing her legs and folding her hands over her knee. "No more boarding school, no more Alexis, and no more going away from home."

"Going away from home". Those worsds got my attention, and I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"Are you okay, Dawn?" Charlotte asked.

I quickly pulled myself together. "I'm okay, Char," I said. "In fact, I have an announcement to make, too."

I stood up and got everyone's attention. "First of all, I got an e-mail from Sunny this afternoon," I began. "Mrs. Winslow passed away this morning at 6:04 a.m."

"Oh, Dawn, that's _awful," _Claud said sympathetically.

"Also," I continued. "Sunny and her father have invited me out to California for her memorial service. Of course, I asked if the rest of you could come, too, and she said that would be okay, because she'd really like to see you again." I paused briefly, preparing them for my big news. "Finally, I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few months, and I don't know how else to say this, but—I want to move back to California. To stay."

If you'd seen the looks on my friends' faces, you'd have thought that I'd just told them that I was dying. That's how shocked they were, especially Mary Anne. On the other hand, I think they all saw this coming.

"Are you sure about this?" Kristy finally managed to ask.

I nodded. "I'm really going to miss you guys, but Sunny needs me. Also, I think for the first time in my life, I'm beginning to understand how Jeff felt when he lived here."

"I know exactly what you mean, Dawn," Stacey said. "I still feel the same way every time I go between here and New York. It's really hard, being away from my dad and stepmother, all the kids I grew up with, and the big city."

"Thanks, Stace," I said softly. I was already crying by now, and so was Mary Anne. To my surprise, the two guys were getting a little misty-eyed as well.

"Oh, before I forget," Abby said, as if trying to get us to cheer up a little. "Look what Charlotte and a bunch of other kids made for Sunny's family."

She reached behind her and pulled out a yellow construction-paper card with a picture of the beach at sunset on the front, along with the words "THINKING OF YOU" in her handwriting, on the top. When she handed it to me, I opened it to see that all of our baby-sitting charges had signed it. I was so touched, I started bawling my eyes out all over again.

"That's so beautiful," I said between sobs.

Even though I was looking forward to seeing California again, it was a bittersweet moment, because I knew I'd be leaving so much behind here.

A couple of days later, we were on a plane bound for L.A., and all of us were lost in our own worlds: Kristy, Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, Mal, Jessi, and I. Mary Anne and I spent most of the flight crying on each other's shoulders. And as luck would have it, the in-flight movie happened to be the 1979 version of _The Champ. _Kristy looked out the window in an attempt to hide how angry and hurt she was feeling. Claud and Jessi slept for most of the flight, and Stacey and Mal were lost in their own worlds. I think I was the only one who was fully aware of the plane landing.

When we got off the plane at LAX, we saw Dad, Sunny, and Mr. Winslow. The four of us went into a group hug. "Hi, Sunshine," Dad said softly. Upon hearing that, Sunny burist into tears. Not only is it Sunny's given name at birth, but I'd also heard that Mrs. Winslow picked it out.

Despite the circumstances, I was glad to be home.

The next afternoon, we were all gathered on the beach. It was a beautiful day, and having the friends that came with me when we'd practically won the lottery (we'd gotten five of the six numbers), as well as my friends in the We Love Kids Club, and the kids we sit for, helped lighten the burden.

"'I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountain, from whence cometh my help'," the minister read as Sunny and her father scattered Mrs. Winslow's ashes over the ocean. As I watched, I remembered the many times our parents had brought us there when we were growing up, and how calm Sunny had been when Maggie Blume's little cousin stepped on a jellyfish. She'd handled the situation the same way Kristy or Mal would have.

The next thing I remember happening was Mr. Cater picking up his acoustic guitar, which he'd won at a Chinese dinner and silent auction at Whitney's day center. And coincidentally, that's when the sun started setting. _"Sun-shi-ine on my shoul-der-rs...makes me happy-y-y..." _he sang.

Mrs. Winslow would've loved that.

**THE END**


End file.
